Gentle Smile
by NE1410S
Summary: They were rivals, prodigies of the tennis community. She had healed the void in their hearts that even tennis could not fill, but who would soothe the greatest fear of HER heart?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: We don't own Prince of Tennis. However, we did create Rōsoku Emiko. And we're sorry if our story seems too much like other stories you might have read or wrote. It's not intentional if it is

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Creator: Why the heck am I being called "Creator"?!??

Missy: Because you're the one writing the story, not me. MWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Creator: Uh, right… _(inches away)_

Missy: Stop complaining. JUST WRITE THE STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Creator: Fine, fine, I'm getting to it… _(sigh)_

Missy: By the way, this is our first story. So please tell us what you think. And please pardon us if the Japanese is spelled wrong or misused. Or any mistake, really. Read on

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Gentle Smile – Chapter 1 

_Oh great. My first day in a Japanese school. I wonder how long I'll survive…_

It was the first day of a new school year at Seishun Academy as well as Emiko's first day in a Japanese school. Since it was early in the morning, about thirty minutes before school, there were not very many people around. Emiko wandered through the school grounds watching the cherry blossoms as they swirled in the wind like pale pink snow. As she closed her eyes, Emiko began to dance amidst the lightly falling sakura. She did not notice the two boys coming from opposite sides around the tennis courts. The boys, who were not aware of each other's presence, paused as they caught sight of the slight, slender girl with dark brown hair that was pulled back into a bun held precariously by a single plain wooden hair stick. They watched as the wind tugged the stick loose and her hair, long and dark, swirled among the cherry blossoms.

--

Rōsoku Emiko walked into the school building, her hair twisted into a bun. Other students had arrived and more were still arriving. She gave a small sigh. Honestly, she couldn't decide whether or not she was excited to be attending a new school. Emiko almost felt a bitter towards her parents for deciding to move here. Back in America she could have been a freshman in high school. It was good thing that she still remembered the Japanese she had learned from a friend a long time ago.

Walking into the classroom of class 3-1, Emiko paused uncertainly just inside the door. As a result, a boy who was walking in with a stack of papers for the teacher bumped into her and dropped most of the paper.

"Sorry," the boy said as he bent to retrieve the papers on the floor. His face betrayed no signs of the normal surprise one might feel at walking into another person.

"It's alright," Emiko replied as she crouched down to help him. Five other boys appeared at the door just as the two of them began picking up the mess.

"What happened here, Tezuka?" asked a green-eyed boy with an egg-shaped head.

"Just a little accident, Oishi."

"Hmm… I didn't know you were so clumsy, Tezuka," teased a smiling boy with light brown hair and eyes that appeared to be closed. Tezuka shot him a sharp glance as a redheaded boy began to jump up and down.

"Nya, Fuji, Tezuka buchou's gonna make us run laps if you say things like that!"

"Ah yes," interjected a tall boy with rectangular glasses, carrying a notebook in his hands. "There is an eighty-five percent chance that Tezuka will assign extra laps during practice."

"Well, why don't we just help them pick up the paper for now? There's so much of it on the floor," said a shy looking boy.

"Them? Eh?" the redhead asked as the shy boy nodded towards Emiko.

"Ah," said Fuji as he walked over to help. "Excuse us for not noticing you."

"It's fine," Emiko replied, lifting her head and smiling at him before returning her attention to the sea of paper.

The smile on Fuji's face vanished for an instant and his eyes opened, revealing his own sapphire blue eyes as he caught sight of Emiko's amethyst eyes. Recovering himself he asked, "You have _violet_ eyes?"

Everyone turned to stare. Emiko smiled, somewhat amused. _Everyone has to ask, don't they?_ "Hai. Is there something wrong with that?"

Fuji shook his head, smiling, "Demo, you don't see that eye color everyday, do you?"

"Actually, I do," came the old reply she told everyone who asked, and her extraordinary eyes twinkled with merriment at the joke. Noticing the puzzled expressions, her smile widened a little as she swiftly added, "You know, my own." Fuji chuckled.

The tall boy with glasses was scribbling madly away in his notebook. She caught the words, "Ii data."

"Nani?"

"That's just Inui," Fuji said, laughing slightly. "He collects data."

"And makes us drink terrible juice!" the redhead complained.

"Eh?" Emiko blinked, confused. "Terrible…juice?"

"Eiji, it's not bad," Fuji said, with an amused smile.

"Well then, would you like to try my latest-" Inui began, as his hand started digging around in a tennis bag that Emiko hadn't noticed.

"NO!" came the immediate reply from everyone except Fuji and Tezuka, who had remained silent throughout the conversation, and was now holding all the papers in a neat stack. Emiko giggled at the boys' horrified faces. Smiling to herself, she thought _they seem to be a happy bunch._ Then a bell suddenly rang throughout the school.

"Class will be starting soon," Tezuka stated. Giving the others a look that clearly said, "You should get going," he walked off to deposit the papers on the teacher's desk. The other boys left for their own classrooms, teasing each other good-naturedly before separating. _Definitely a fun crowd_, Emiko thought as she moved towards the rows of desks.

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Missy: Let's see. Are these socks clean? _(sniffs)_ Ah! They smell like laundry detergent! They're clean! 

Creator: WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING!?

Emi: …Creator's little sister is weeeird…

Missy: _(glare)_ WHY THE HECK DID YOU PUT THIS IN ANYWAY?!!?

Creator: _(evil grin)_ Hee hee hee

Missy: _(simmers)_ Well, now that THAT'S out of the way _(bops Creator on the head)_ Please review!

Creator: MISSY'S A MEANIE! _(crawls into a corner and cries)_

Emi: Siblings are a mystery. Oh! And please feel free to give constructive criticism

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Note: It is meant to be confusing as to which character is which in this chapter since this is all mainly a setup for the story. It will all be sorted out in chapter 2. Of course, those of you who have seen the anime/read the manga will probably be able to tell who is who and be able to keep track of who is talking. And could someone tell me how an _older_ sister would address a _younger_ brother in Japanese? 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Do not own Prince of Tennis, just Emiko.

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Missy: WHEEEE!!! New chapter! Thank you KeitorinTeirra and stophoggingtheblanket for reviewing! By the way, great stories stophoggingtheblanket! I just wish you would finish them. You didn't finish The New Girl Next Desk or Tensai, Tensai, Tell Me Why and you started The Iceman Cometh!

Creator: Come on! We need to work on this chapter, not worry about other people's work right now! _(grumbles)_ I have such a crazy sister…

Missy: Yeah, yeah.

Creator: _(Sigh.)_ Well anyway, here's the next chapter!

Missy: And don't forget to review! We'd like to know what you think of the story so far. And feel free to make suggestions! Now read on!

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Gentle Smile – Chapter 2 

Emiko found herself sitting to the left of the boy that had bumped into her earlier. From the conversation of the other boys who she suspected were his friends, she guessed that his name was Tezuka. As the class moved on to history, she studied him out of the corner of her eye. His features were stern, with straight brows over brown eyes framed by silver glasses resting on a long, straight nose. His light brown hair fell from a side part, cascading around his face and into his eyes.

Class continued, the minutes crawling by. History had never been an interesting subject to her. As a result, her history grade had never been that high since she was never motivated to do well in the subject. Homework was dull, but she had always done relatively well. It was just the tests and quizzes that brought her grade down.

As her attention began to wander, Emiko began to notice that a girl in front of her kept glancing behind herself. Wondering what on earth could be so interesting, Emiko turned slightly in order to see what the girl was looking at. As she looked around she noticed that other girls kept glancing in her general direction. _What could they be looking at?_

When the bell rang for break her question was answered as a flood of girls rushed towards Tezuka's desk, effectively demolishing the neat rows of the desks.

"TEZUKA-SAMA! I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE IN THE SAME CLASS!"

"DID YOU MISS ME, TEZUKA?"

"DID YOU HAVE A GOOD BREAK, TEZUKA-SAMA?"

"DO YOU LIKE MY HAIRCUT?"

"DOES THIS SKIRT MAKE ME LOOK FAT?"

And so it went on for the whole break. During this time, Emiko stared at the mob in disbelief. _Tezuka must be a really popular guy_, she thought, as the crowd appeared to expand tenfold with every second that passed. Everyone else in the room had scurried towards the walls in order to avoid getting injured by the crazy fan girls.

Feeling that there was suddenly very little room between her and the mass of flailing arms and legs, Emiko inched out between her desk and the window and moved to a place where she could still see out of the window that and was relatively quiet. _The sky is clear today_, she thought. Some sakura petals whipped past as the trees bent in the wind. _It's also windy out there_, she noted with a small, amused smile as the mob behind her shrieked like a fierce gale.

--

Finally, the merciful bell rang and the teacher shooed a majority of the girls out of the classroom. Now that peace had been restored to the classroom, desks were put back in order and English began.

This period turned out to be just as dull as history, the only difference being that she knew all of the material already. Living in America all of her life had taught her all the English she wanted to know. Plus, she was way past this level already. _I learned all this in second grade_. Emiko suppressed a yawn._ I wonder when lunch is?_

--

The lunch break was a relief after a pretty boring morning. Emiko got her lunch and walked into the cafeteria, looking for a place to sit. It was rather loud and confusing, what with the chatter of voices from every corner. Emiko turned back towards the hall, intending to find somewhere quieter to eat her lunch, and consequently bumped into someone.

Both of them staggered a little as they attempted to regain their balance. _Why is it that I keep bumping into people today? _Emiko wondered as she found her feet. "Sorry about that," she said, smiling somewhat ruefully as she looked at the figure standing before her.

"You're the girl with violet eyes from this morning, aren't you?" the brown-haired, smiling boy asked as Emiko recognized him as one of the boys she met this morning.

"Yes." Emiko really didn't know what else to say. She had never been particularly good at keeping a conversation going, since most of the time she didn't know what to say. Neither of them said anything for a few uncomfortable seconds. Then the volume of in the cafeteria suddenly rose and Emiko flinched.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Oh, I'm fine," Emiko replied, grimacing slightly. "It just got really noisy in here all of a sudden. I don't mix well with loud noise sometimes." She smiled suddenly, remembering Tezuka's fan girls. "Sometimes it's amusing though."

"Ah. In that case, would you like to join me outside? It shouldn't be too noisy, though perhaps a little windy."

"That would be nice," Emiko told him politely. The two made their way outside into the sunshine. The air was warm, but it was slightly nippy due to a small breeze. The sakura swirled.

"I just realized that I don't know your name," the smiling boy said as they walked.

"It's Rōsoku Emiko. What about yours?"

"Fuji Syuusuke," he answered, smiling.

--

"I forgot to tell you that it may possibly get a little rowdy," Fuji voiced as they neared a group of boys sitting under a couple of cherry trees. "And in case you were wondering, those are the others you met this morning. A few others too, by the looks of it."

"Okay," Emiko said and she smiled as a boy with spiky hair waved and called out to Fuji.

"Hey, Fuji! Who's the girl? Is she your girlfriend?"

Fuji chuckled as they drew up to the group. "No, Momo, she's not my girlfriend. She's just a girl we met this morning, though I didn't get her name until just now. But I'll let her introduce herself." The two of them sat down.

"Hello. I'm Rōsoku Emiko, but please just call me Emiko-chan," she told them, smiling and trying not to look down at the grass. She wasn't ordinarily shy, but as she was receiving undivided attention from a group of boys, she couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated.

(A/N: Emiko, being from America, is more used to being called by her first name. I won't have the boys question it at this time, and maybe not ever, because it detracts from the rest of the story.)

"It's nice to meet you Emiko-chan," said one of the boys she had met this morning. This boy, who had two funny bangs in front, introduced himself as Oishi Syuichiro. The rest of the boys proceeded to tell her their names as well. The bouncing redhead was Kikumaru Eiji. The boy with the rectangular glasses and notebook was Inui Sadaharu.

The shy boy from earlier was called Kawamura Takashi. All of these boys, she learned, were in the third year just like she was. There were two second-years as well. Momoshiro Takeshi was the spiky haired boy while Kaidoh Kaoru seemed to have a permanently angry expression.

"Oh, and Tezuka will eat with us when he isn't doing other things," Fuji added.

"What's he do during lunch break?" Emiko asked, but before Fuji could answer, Momo, as Momoshiro liked to be called, broke in and said, "Eh? How do you know our buchou, Emiko-chan?"

"Buchou?" Emiko asked, confused.

"He means Tezuka," Oishi explained. "All of us are regulars in the tennis club and Tezuka is our captain."

"You guys play tennis?" Emiko asked. She had an odd, distant look on her face as she said this.

"Well, yes," said Fuji. He studied her closely. "Is something wrong Emiko-chan?"

"Oh, not at all," she said, coming back to earth. "It's just that I used to play a lot."

"Really? What a coincidence!" Momoshiro exclaimed as Inui scribbled in his notebook. "Hey, do want to have a match after school? Only I would probably be the only one at the courts since everyone else is going to play with another school today."

"I don't think I should." Emiko said, smiling at him. Fuji noted that she looked a little sad. "It's been years since I picked up a racket. You see, I used to play a lot with my brother."

"Used to?" Fuji asked gently. Emiko nodded and that distant look came over her face again.

"I haven't seen him for years though. After he moved out of California I… sort of lost interest in tennis. It wasn't as fun anymore." Emiko looked up into the forget-me-not blue sky. "I wonder what he's doing now."

--

Emiko wandered about the school grounds. Classes had ended a little while ago, but she didn't quite feel like walking home yet. As she walked she thought about her brother. She wondered what he was doing, where he was. Emiko hadn't thought of him for such a long time. They had been so close.

The sound of a racket hitting a tennis ball brought her out of her reverie. That sound was so familiar to her ears… like music. It was a sound she found that she missed.

All she had to do was follow the sound of the ball and let her feet carry her to the tennis courts. Looking through the fence she saw that a couple of boys were serving balls at a small can. The first two boys didn't come close to hitting the can. The third boy who tried came close, but didn't knock it over. Then one of the two older boys present called to another boy that was standing to the side, a large tennis bag slung over his shoulder. This boy was rather short and was still wearing his school uniform. There was something in the way he carried himself that seemed familiar though.

The boy took a racket out of his bag and served. Emiko knew the ball was going to hit the can even before the ball hit the strings. That easy, almost lazy service motion…it was so familiar… but why? Emiko strained her eyes through the links in the fence and laid her hands against the wire mesh, watching as the boy hit the can repeatedly. The older boy from before yelled something at him but Emiko didn't hear it. She gripped the fence so tightly that her knuckles turned white as the color drained from her face, her eyes riveted on the boy still wearing his school uniform.

Emiko recognized that face, those eyes, even though it had been years since she had last seen it.

"Otouto-kun," she breathed

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Creator: I'm really sorry about the mob, but I really found the crazy fan girls fun to write about. It is much more likely of course that the girls wouldn't directly approach him and put love notes in his locker or something, or that Tezuka would give them all a glare and walk out to look for his teammates, or something like that. I'm also really sorry that the action in these first two chapters has been so slow. Well, they're slow to me anyway. But I had to clarify the cast of characters (more or less) before I could get anywhere particularly interesting. I hope the mob made things more interesting in this chapter, because I felt that this chapter was rather dry for the most part. And then the trickiest part for me was trying to figure out the class schedule since I have no idea what kind of schedule one would have in a Japanese school. All references to classes were made up. You may comment about the classes, but I doubt I will do anything to change it in this chapter though because I'm too lazy. Might use any advice given for future reference though. Ah, but I'm ranting on and on here. Chapter 3 should be more interesting and a bit faster paced. I'm sure that most of you can guess who Emiko's brother is at this point. Please review, correct anything that might need correcting, and feel free to leave suggestions about things you want to have happen! I really ramble too much… and the sentence structure is a bit wonky in places… _(grumbles)_

Missy: Creator, would you just shut up and save everyone from your ranting?

Creator: _(Continues mumbling.)_

Missy: _(sigh)_ Never mind. We hope that there will be more reviews, but no one's gonna force you. It's just that we feel like no one's reading da story if there aren't many reviews.

Creator: Please review! _(Makes puppy dog eyes.)_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own Prince of Tennis. Do own Emiko Rōsoku.

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Missy: You made this chapter waaaay too depressing.

Creator: I'm just trying to show a different side of Emiko's personality.

Missy: Riiiight. But I know that you had lots of writer's block while writing da chapter.

Creator: Yes, I had trouble writing this chapter because I didn't know what to write. I know I said this chapter would be faster paced, but Ilied. In fact, it's probably even slower.

Missy: HA! You admitted you lied! _(evil cackle)_

Creator: This is also the only chapter so far that you didn't do any writing, thus the reason there is very little dialogue.

Missy: I did contribute ideas, though. So there!

Creator: Whatever.

Missy: Let's not bore the readers any further with this dull conversation. Read on!

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Gentle Smile – Chapter 3 

Emiko lay on her bed, her face in her pillow. Feelings of surprise, shock, sadness, joy, frustration, and occasional flashes of bitterness tumbled inside her making impossible to even think about homework. _How can he be here in Japan? How can he be attending the same school as me? WHY is he here?_ Emiko punched her pillow, on the verge of tears. _Why is it he shows up now?_

--

Although she didn't feel like getting up Emiko forced herself to get ready for school the next morning. After getting dressed, she slowly made her way to the kitchen for breakfast. Mrs. Rōsoku was busy cooking as usual, while Mr. Rōsoku read the morning paper at the table. Both looked up when their daughter entered the room.

"Morning Emi," Mrs. Rōsoku said, smiling at her daughter. However, her smile faded when she noticed how pale Emiko's face was, the slightly red eyes, and the messier than normal bun at the base of her neck. Emiko had not given the usual hug she gave to her mother and father in the mornings, had not smiled that good-natured smile. Something had happened.

"Emi?" her father had also noticed her strange behavior. "How was school yesterday? You got all of your homework done without problems?"

Emiko looked up from the plate of toast that she had been staring at. Something was definitely not right if she wasn't eating. "School was okay, and I finished all my homework." _It was a real hassle, though._ She kept pausing between her words and her voice had a monotonous tone that was unlike their usually cheerful daughter. Mrs. Rōsoku knew instinctively that Emiko was not sick, but depressed. What exactly she was depressed about remained to be seen.

"Did you sign up for any clubs yet?" Mr. Rōsoku asked. _Maybe being busy will cheer her up._

"I was thinking about archery and track."

"What about tennis?" her mother asked.

The effect of this question startled both of her parents. Emiko stood up, seized her bag, and headed for the door saying, "School will be starting soon. I better go." Her parents looked after her, a worried expression in both of their eyes.

"Do you think she saw him at school yesterday?" Mrs. Rōsoku asked her husband.

"If she did then we were seriously mistaken about how she would react."

"We weren't the only ones who thought they would be happy to see each other. And don't forget that it was your idea to keep it a secret from both of them in order for it to be a surprise."

"I know. But who would have guessed how she would react? Maybe she's still upset that they left without saying goodbye all those years ago."

"Perhaps. I'll call Rinko to ask her if he said anything." Mrs. Rōsoku headed for the phone as Mr. Rōsoku gazed out the window were Emiko could be seen walking to school, strands of her hair falling from her tangled bun.

--

Fuji admired the delicate rain of sakura petals as he walked on his way to school. The pale pink blossoms were putting forth their best show this year.

A few other Seigaku students walked along the sidewalk, calling out greetings as they went their way. As Fuji continued onwards, he spotted Oishi and Kikumaru ahead of him chatting about something or other. When Inui and Kaidoh joined them all four stopped to one side of the sidewalk. "Ohayo," greeted Fuji as he came up to them.

"Ah, ohayo Fuji," returned Oishi. "We were just discussing something Momo mentioned yesterday. Something about a freshman, Echizen Ryoma."

"Echizen Ryoma?" Inui asked. "Have you heard of him?"

"Nope," said Kaidoh.

"From what Momo tells me, he's no ordinary freshman," Fuji supplied.

"Well, if he said so, then it must be true," said Kikumaru.

"Hmm…" said Oishi, looking thoughtful. Then he smiled and gave a half shrug. "If that's the case, we should be grateful."

"We'll see," stated Fuji as they all began to walk towards the school once more.

"Fuji?" The soft voice was low and so quiet he almost didn't hear it. Fuji turned and saw a girl he didn't know, or so he thought.

"Emiko-chan? Is that you?" Fuji couldn't bring himself to believe that this morose looking girl was the same cheerful person he had met only the day before. Their feet paced side by side.

"Of course," she snapped at him. "Who else could it be?" Fuji didn't give an immediate response. Instead, he quickened his pace just enough for him to be able stop directly in front of her, nearly causing a collision between the two of them. Emiko frowned up at the boy, wondering why he had stopped. He opened his eyes and gave her a long, calculating stare that was rather unnerving.

"You seem very different today." He turned away from her and began walking again. "I think I liked the Emiko-chan I met yesterday much better." The carefully light voice of the unusually serious looking boy left Emiko rooted to the spot, her mind full of conflicting emotions.

--

Following a long contemplation, Emiko decided that a good run before class would relieve more stress than transfiguring an archery target into a pincushion. Luckily the track team did not have practice today. After changing into a t-shirt and a pair of shorts Emiko made her way to the track. A breeze wafted by as she looked up into the sky and filled her lungs with the cool morning air, the slight wind lifting wisps of her hair. Her arms spread open, embracing the wide expanse of the sky as though willing some unseen entity to take away all emotion. She closed her eyes for a moment. Then she ran.

--

Towards the end of the morning practice Fuji noticed Rōsoku in a t-shirt and shorts with running shoes on her feet. It looked as though she was headed for the track. Fuji didn't know what compelled him to do it, but he walked to the track when practice was over. He didn't know what to expect, didn't know what he would find as he wound his way through the cherry trees that bordered the track. He watched as she raised her hands skyward and closes her eyes. He watched her start to run as the wind swept through the trees and the cherry blossom petals fell like a silent rain of tears.

Just as Emiko was unaware of Fuji's presence so was Fuji unaware that another was watching. This person noted, just as Fuji did, the falling of a single tear from the violet eyes of the girl as she ran in order to free herself from all sensation other than the rush of the wind on her face and the touch of her foot so light on the earth that she appeared to fly over the ground.

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Missy: I'm serious! This chapter is too depressing!

Creator: Refer to previous conversation.

Missy: People like me might be too lazy to do that.

Creator: Too bad. Anyway, in the next chapter, the story will actually progress.

Missy: Gooooood.

Creator: We'll leave you all to wonder about how it will progress.

Missy: And please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own Prince of Tennis. Do own Emiko Rōsoku (Missy: This is getting boring. Does we _always _have to do this? Especially since I always type it.)

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Missy: YAY! New chapter! _(happy dance)_

Creator: Uh, you know I haven't started yet, right?

Missy: Then get to work!

Creator: _(sigh)_ I'm getting to it. Geez!

Missy: Then HURRY UP! And we hope you enjoy! Read on!

Creator: Doesn't that line bore you?

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**Gentle Smile – Chapter 4**

"Mommy, are we there yet?"

Mrs. Rōsoku looked up from the map in her hands. "We'll be in LA in about another half an hour dear. Why don't you take a nap?"

Emiko pouted and crossed her arms. "But I've _been_ sleeping almost the whole time," she whined.

Chuckling, Emiko's father peered at his daughter through the rearview mirror. "You know that we are going to visit your aunt and uncle, right?"

"Yeah."

"Did I tell you that they also have a child? About seven years old?"

"That makes me the older cousin, right? I'm two years older," she said.

"That's right. Oh, and-"

"Dear, the exit is coming up soon, so be sure to pay a little more attention to the road," Mrs. Rōsoku interrupted.

"Ha, right you are, Yuri."

Emiko settled down into her seat and turned her head towards the window. She grinned at herself in the mirror. _I'm so happy to have someone about my own age to play with! But I wonder what kind of a person my cousin is._

--

"Hey, Emiko! We're here!"

"Hnn…" Emiko blinked blearily into the hot, afternoon sun. After rubbing her eyes and letting out a yawn, she found that her parents had parked outside of a pale blue house.

"Come on, Emiko! Out of the car!" Emiko yawned once more, stretched, and opened the car door. Her mother took her hand as her father retrieved a box of homemade chocolate-dipped mints.

Upon reaching the door of the house, Mrs. Rosoku rang the doorbell. The distant chime from within was quickly followed by the sound of many pairs of feet and general chaos.

"Nanjiroh, they're here!"

"Where is the laundry basket?"

"Kaasan, where's Karupin?"

Mrs. Rōsoku exchanged an amused look with her husband. "How typical of my little sister."

"And how even more typical of Nanjiroh," replied Mr. Rosoku, chuckling.

The door opened and a boy appeared. Large amber eyes stared upwards as slender arms locked around a wriggling Siamese kitten. His black hair stuck out from beneath a white Fila hat, which was worn sideways. The boy continued to stare steadily at the Rōsoku family as the volume inside the house rose in a steady crescendo.

"Ryoma, where'd you run off to? Gah! Why did you open the door!?" A woman appeared in the doorway, sweeping long, red-brown hair out of her eyes.

"But Kaasan, there are people." The boy had finally looked away and was gazing up at his mother with wide eyes. "And you told me it was okay to open the door today."

The woman sighed before turning to Mrs. Rosoku and giving her a worn smile. "Yuri! It's been such a long time!" The sisters embraced as a man with long, dark hair appeared.

"Hey, Nanjiroh, how are you doing?" Mr. Rosoku clasped hands with Nanjiroh, who grinned cheekily.

"Fine, Fine. I'm surviving."

"And this little man must be Ryoma," Mr. Rōsoku said, looking at the boy.

Ryoma frowned and hugged the cat closer to his chest. "I'm not little."

Emiko giggled slightly at his expression. "Daddy didn't mean it that way."

"Hmm? Oh!" Mrs. Rōsoku tapped herself on the forehead. "Rinko, Nanjiroh, and Ryoma, this is Emiko. I'm so sorry for not introducing her right away."

"Such a pretty girl! Really, Yuri, she's just the cutest thing!" Rinko tugged Emiko towards herself before turning to her sister with a determined face. "We ladies must all go shopping together while you're visiting!"

Everybody else in the vicinity dropped. "I'm sure that we can go to the mall sometime, Rinko, so please calm down," said Mrs. Rōsoku.

Eventually, everyone went into the house.

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Summer Break!!!!!!! Of course, I'm in the middle of summer school right now and it's really intense. It's very tiring. But my Japanese class is still fun! Chapter 4 is short, but I plan to supplement it with Chapter 5. I'll try to work a little faster so that you all will remember what I wrote. This chapter is rather raw, so if anyone has suggestions on how to improve it, I'll be very happy. I figured that I should at least post **something**. 


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